Under-run bumper has safety swing
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AN UNDER-RUN bumper developed by Road Research Ltd could markedly reduce damage to any lorry fitted with it — and to any vehicle that hit the bar.
It differs from normal fixed steel tube under-run bumpers in being able to ,swing inwards and upwards under impact. The rate of spring is controlled by hydraulic dampers and is proportional to speed of impact.
Development work, under contract to the TRRL, has shown that the bar impacts up to 65km/ h (40mph) safety is vastly improved for anyone hitting the bar. And at up to 13km/ h (10mph) damage should be "negligible" to either vehicle, says the company.
The special dampers used could be likened to vehicle shock absorbers, but are capable of containing pressures up to 172,375kN/sqm (25,000 psi) without exploding.
Road Research Ltd — of Harmer Street, Gravesend, Kent — was not able to put a cost on this protection bar, as it is at prototype stage. But it should cost few pounds more than a normal fixed bar. It is not at present in production.
The same company has also been working on a pedestrian "catch net" that could be used on psv and lorries. It would catch pedestrians in frontal collisions in a nylon net, so in many cases saving them from death in an accident.